The Collective comprises Alice Austen, Aaron Carter, John Conroy, Emily Dendinger, Wendell Etherly, Frances Limoncelli, Susan McLaughlin Karp and Brett Neveu.

The Collective will offer a supportive environment for playwrights who share an affinity for TimeLine's mission of presenting stories inspired by history that connects with the social and political issues of today.

Eight writers, selected each season to participate in the Collective will meet regularly to work on projects that fit TimeLine's mission. The season will culminate in an evening of readings of excerpts by each playwright for the TimeLine company members, associate artists and the playwrights' invited guests.

The Collective will be led by TimeLine literary manager Ben Thiem, who said in a statement, "It's invigorating to work with this group of Chicago playwrights and to provide them with a supportive artistic home this year. Each of these talented writers represents a unique voice and a shared interest in exploring stories inspired by history, and we can't wait to develop compelling and thought-provoking new work with them."

Any works developed with the Playwrights Collective may be considered for future development and production at TimeLine Theatre. "We're thrilled to welcome these eight distinguished writers into our inaugural Playwrights Collective," TimeLine artistic director PJ Powers said in a statement. "TimeLine looks to this exciting, eclectic group of writers to help us learn how we can make our company a truly supportive place for playwrights and to improve our process for developing new work."

Additionally, Behzad Dabu, Mikhail Fiksel, Ron OJ Parson and Collette Pollard have been named Associate Artists at Timeline, and J. Robert Barr, Alvin Katz, Eileen LaCario, Thaddeus J. Malik, Jessica Graham Nielsen, Susan A. Payne, John M. Sirek and Anne M. Stockton joined the theatre's Board of Directors.

Visit timelinetheatre.com for more information.